Wide awake...

Why is it that nights like this always result in absolutely no sleep? In about 15 minutes, James' alarm will be going off, and we'll prepare for our final goodbyes. I don't think Oba's ready for this either, as I've heard him wrestle throughout the whole night and continually pace between each side of the bed whining. Luckily, us telling him to go back to bed worked with each attempt, but nonetheless, he can't sleep either.

I'll never understand that little punk. It's as if he senses when we wake up. I don't even have to move for him to know that I'm awake. Something as simple as opening my eyes seems to be his calling. Just from that, I begin to hear the jingle of his collar as he moseys his way over to my side of the bed, hitting his tail against the wall, ready to get up for the day (or night...3am isn't quite morning).

I'm dreading tomorrow, as we have to adjust back to this deployment. Let the countdown begin, as we *only* have 5 1/2 months left until James is back for good (or at least until the next deployment). As I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with my time just yet, I have a feeling this second half is going to go by MUCH slower than the first. We had so much to look forward to during the first half, not to mention all of the hope and excitement that surrounded us. The second half, on the other hand, will be consumed by the healing process, as we find a new normal *again*. Oh well, thanks to the thoughtful gift by a family member, I have every intent on catching up on my Netflix queue...